Just Cry
by farrahbelle64
Summary: Karla's never let herself lose her strength even amidst tragedy. Stephens never let himself get too close to anyone because of his line of work. Can they work together to realize that sometimes, a human connection is all you need to survive?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer**: I do not stake any claim in the characters I'm about to portray. Nor do I think the WWE is really cracking down on any fan fictions. Just saying.

"_Just breath. Just take it one day at a time. It'll be fine, don't you worry." _ She softly told herself.

Karla finished packing the last of her tiny apartment in Syracuse, NY's medical district. She'd lived here for the last six years since graduating from Syracuse University with a degree in Media Communications. She'd spent the last year getting her bearings on the local newscast, doing everything from assisting in planning out the daily segments to fetching coffee for the anchors. She loved working at the news station but at this point, that's all there would be. Planning out the same inane segments and fetching coffee. And the pay would never reach over forty grand, something Karla was alright with, but you could always use more. She would miss her co-workers, she would miss the daily grind she's become so accustomed to, but that's all it ever would be. The daily grind. At this point, Karla could do it in her sleep. She'd been quietly sending out resumes anywhere for the last year and finally got a hit. Well, actually her brother Anthony had gotten a hit. He'd sensed Karla's frustration and sent some resumes out for her. And the WWE had answered. She hardly knew anything about wrestling other than Ant loved it and he had dragged them as a family to about six shows growing up. Karla could obviously have just said no thank you to the offer, but it was quite a raise. Six figures of a raise in fact, and she'd be leading her own team. But the real deal breaker had been the fact that she could relocate to Stamford, Connecticut with the option of having NYC her primary office.

For the past six years, Karla had doubted her decision to work in Syracuse, having grown up in Liverpool, NY and then going to Syracuse University. Where all her high school and college friends had gone off jet setting and seeing the world, Karla had stuck to the familiar. Some of it had to do with Ant, who she'd practically raised. He was ten years her junior and had just graduated high school. She couldn't imagine having left him alone in Syracuse, even though everything would have been taken care of for him. But he was off to Boston University now to pursue a medical degree and she knew it was now or never. If she stayed she'd always be Karla Torricelli, coffee girl.

"Hey Kar, are you almost done packing? I wanna get down there in time for the game." Anthony called from the living room/kitchen in the tiny studio apartment they shared. Figures, Ant never missed a sporting event. No matter what it was.

"Yes, you big baby, I'm all ready to go. Just have to bring these last few boxes down." Karla called from her loft bedroom. Ant had taken the futon in the living room. He'd really been a trooper living here the past ten years. Her parents would have been proud of him, stepping up to the plate and never complaining. You see, Karla and Ant had grown up in Liverpool. They'd lived like everyone else they knew, in a comfy ranch house in a tight knit development. Mom was a real estate agent part time and Dad worked at the local Carrier location. But the night of Karlas High School graduation the most unthinkable had happened. Her parents had driven separately, giving Karla the freedom of going out with her friends. She never knew it'd be the last time she'd see them. They'd been hit that night by a driver who just lost control. The only consolation anyone had given her was, at least it had been quick. At least they hadn't suffered, and at least Karla was older. _"Think of poor Anthony. You have to be strong for him, you don't have time to cry. Your all he has now." _ Karla replayed those words in her head every time she felt herself sinking. But she'd gotten through it. She hadn't even cried once since her parents had died. Instead she picked up the pieces, found a place for her and Ant to live and started over. Sure they could have stayed in the house, but the mortgage was just too much for Karla to handle with school. Her parents had planned a little bit, and of course had college accounts set up for their kids, but even with that it was tough. Karla did her best, bringing home food snuck out of the college dining halls to feed Ant after school. But all in all she'd done a pretty good job bringing him up. Studying was always number one and by the time he was apply to college he pretty much had his pick of schools with scholarships, plus the money she'd been saving from their parents for him. He'd be all set to go off to Boston and start living his life.

"Well let's get a move on then, I wanna get all settled in and see this place they got you living in. I bet it's pretty sweet." Anthony called, grabbing the last boxes and heading out the door. Karla grabbed her purse and her duffle with the last few things she'd thrown in and stared into the empty space. She had no reason to ever come back to Syracuse now. Anthony would come to Connecticut for breaks, and they'd be closer to their Paternal , and only, grandparents who lived in a Senior housing facility on Long Island. They'd start over and finally start living. She'd start living.

The tour busses pulled into their maintenance facility outside the headquarters in Stamford Connecticut. Stephen was the last one left. Pretty much everyone else had flown back home to be with their families on this break, but having to go back to Ireland for one week, proved to be impossible with the flight times. Plus he didn't have anyone waiting for him back in St. Augustine besides a hermit crab which was about the only pet that could fend for itself as much as he was on the road. Plus being in Stamford would give him some extra practice time in the ring.

Gathering all his things he headed into the building he'd grown accustomed to since coming here so many years ago. He nodded hello to the attendants at the door who at this point didn't even check his ID. Everyone here knew who he was, and even if they hadn't met, they knew him from the program.

He made his way to the locker rooms and immediately suited up for a long gym session. _"Man, come home with me, Kristen can make some nice home cooked meals, and just relax for a while ya know?"_ He heard the words again that his good friend Ted had said before they parted in Memphis. Nah, I'm alright, was his response. It's true that sometimes he did work too hard, too much. But this was what he wanted right? To be the best, to beat everyone in the game. To make his mark. And why would you stop at just beating everyone and claiming every title? Claim them all and then keep them. He wanted to be the first to hold simultaneous titles. Sure he might be alone in the few weeks that they had breaks, but the other 300 days or so a year he was surrounded by his fans and his fellow wrestlers. He was doing what he loved and how many people could honestly say that?

Karla pulled into the apartment complex she'd be living in. She had been told to go to the lobby and fetch her key, everything would be all set. Already it looked amazing. It was a cool summer day but there was already a few people out by the pool. They looked like models even at this distance. The apartments were housed in what looked like a fancy hotel, and the headquarters stood in the background. Karla had chosen to be put up in the WWE's own apartment complex where they housed some staff from the Stamford offices and also where they temporarily housed wrestlers that were in town training or meeting for business. Karla's building thankfully was in the employee's with family one. She could have elected to stay in what was no doubt the rowdier section of apartments, but she wanted to keep things family oriented for Ant, even though he may have preferred to live with up and coming wrestlers.

"Ahh, Ms. Torricelli. I've been expecting you", announced a small girl behind the counter of the main desk. She looked about 5'2", much smaller than Karla's own 5'9". She wore her bleach blond hair in waves cascading down her back. She was toned to say the least and wore short shorts and a small tight tank top. Wow, Karla though to herself, is this the kind of girl I'm going to be working with? She wasn't too bad looking herself, but Karla had always prided herself in less is more, and looking professional. She frowned down at her black leggings, and oversize tan short sleeve sweater dress. The only thing chic about her was her coach flats and oversize Chanel sunglasses.

"Now, they have you in the family section, which is actually a little bare at the moment, the only other Apartment filled there is one of our lighting guys who's two year old daughter occasionally visits, so it'll be real quiet for you if that's what you like." If that's what you like, Karla thought. That stung, she wasn't boring she was thinking of Ant. But I guess he wasn't that eight year old boy she had to look after anymore. He was a grown man now, and could take care of himself. Still, the quiet would be good for her to work in, the new position held a lot more responsibility.

"Now, here's your keys, there's two for you, but if you ever lock yourself out, I have a master here. The pool outside is seasonal and open all the time. It's swim at your own risk obviously, and it's on the side with the wrestlers apartments so you won't hear splashing at all hours of the night. The indoor pool is down the hall here with the sauna and hot tub, and that does close at eleven pm and opens again at five am. The gym is downstairs next to the laundry, there aren't any hours for that and there are lockers available. There is also a pantry down there with anything you might need that you don't have time to run out and get, all free of charge of course. So your room is down that hall to the left and up the stairs, room 203. And Vince actually gave you 205 as well, they adjoin with a door, but have their own main entrances, he didn't think your brother would want to share with you" The small blond spilled out in about five minutes. Karla looked at her confused, two rooms? She didn't need all that, even with the raise these rooms cost over a grand a month.

"But I…" Karla started to say. "Oh honey don't worry, Vince said it's a single rate for the two. Since no body is hardly on that side anyway, it's not like your taking rooms away from anyone. It would just be empty. Now run along, Vince wanted to stop by and see how you were getting along around five so that gives you a good three hours to settle in" The girl said before turning with a smile to head back to whatever she was doing before.

Alright then Karla thought to herself. They made their way to the room, Anthony going on about how hot that girl had been, how he wouldn't want to leave for Boston with girls like that walking around, but Karla tuned him out. She just wanted to get everything into the room and start unpacking.

The keys were like old hotel keys and it didn't take her long to realize that this had been an old hotel, the company must have purchased it and just turned it into apartments. Sliding the key into the slot of room 203 Karla took a short breath and then pushed the heavy metal door open. What she found herself in was nothing short of amazing. The room opened up to a large living room complete with a huge sectional couch. There was a giant flat screen hanging from the wall and a gorgeous wooden carved coffee table in the center. To the left was the kitchen, which was bright and airy with all the appliances included, even a dishwasher. Off of the living room was her bedroom, with a giant king size bed and dresser already in it. Wow, I'll have to get rid of some of my stuff, she though, remembering the tattered twin bed and old futon waiting out in the U-Haul.

"Holy crap Kar, this is sick!" Anthony called from his room. Upon inspection it appeared that whoever prepared these rooms had done their research. Anthony's room was set up like any eighteen year old boy would love. Sports posters were everywhere along with Boston College paraphernalia. His room was also equipped with an XBOX, Wii, PS3, and every wrestling game you could imagine. Karla was completely taken aback. This was more than her new employer needed to do, who knew if she was even going to be a good worker? What if they had made a giant mistake and they'd send her backing back to Syracuse with a huge bill for all the stuff.

Brushing her doubts aside she began setting things up, and getting acquainted with it all. Two hours later and she was about done emptying all the things she would keep here, the furniture and appliances she'd brought would have to be shipped back to her parent's storage unit in Liverpool. She'd kept their personal things locked up after they passed so as not to have to think about it as much and to shelter Ant growing up. The twenty dollars a month it cost to keep the unit was worth the peace of mind that they wouldn't be constantly reminded of what they'd lost.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door, shaking her from her thoughts about the past. She strode toward the door wondering if Anthony ever thought about their parents the way she did. He'd been so young; he'd had time to grow into an outgoing fun kid. With his whole young adult life in front of him, he could do anything. She however had made the sacrifices; she'd grown up fast and lost her young life. It was almost as if she'd died that night in the wreck with her parents. But when she thought of it that she was always washed over with guilt. Listen to you Karla, there was no one to take Anthony. If you hadn't taken him he'd have ended up in some foster home and at eight years old who knew where he would have ended up. Your parents would have been proud; to see what a strong young man he is now. She brushed her own selfish thoughts aside, as long as Anthony was happy, that's what mattered. At least you had those eighteen years with mom and all that time with dad. What did Ant have? Memories that faded more and more each day, she would be pleased with just that thought alone. She'd do what she could to make sure he was alright. Once he was, she'd work on her own demons, but until then Ant came first.

Opening the door Karla found herself face to face with a tall brunette, incredibly muscular yet slender, dressed in casual business attire holding a clipboard and some files.

"Hey, I'm Stephanie McMahon, my father was detained on business so I'm just here to go over what you'll be jumping into tomorrow" She said moving swiftly into the room. She immediately went for the table in the kitchen and Karla followed.

"Hi, I'm Karla Torricelli." She spoke meekly. She silently wished she'd changed, she already had the face of a twelve year old, and she didn't need to look twelve.

"Oh Sweetie I know who you are, and lets just skip the awkward openings and go right to being fast friends. Now these are your cases for the week, just to get your toes wet, we'll have you in Stamford for the week then you will open up your office in New York. It's a short commute on the train so I think Dad wants you to set times you'll be there, but work mostly out of Stamford, it's just easier, maybe three days there, three days here? Sundays are always closed days, but we mostly work Saturdays." Stephanie drained on pulling out disclaimers and things for Karla to sign.

"Now most of these are just for our protection, everyone signs them. Just that no employees will fraternize with the talent on a more than professional level, that you won't divulge any trade secrets to the media, so on and so forth." Stephanie explained handing Karla a pen and some forms.

"_Wow"_, Karla thought to herself. No fraternizing with the talent? That ought to be easy, Karla couldn't remember the last time she'd had a date. She was beginning to think she was actually asexual. Stephanie pulled out some more forms and Karla signed away without really reading them, she knew they were the same disclaimers she'd made countless new employees in Syracuse sign whenever they started. They were hardly ever an issue with anyone.

After Stephanie left Karla decided to look over the folders. Anthony had gone down to the gym and do some laundry, and probably try to get to know some of the girls that were here. He'd promised to be back by seven so they could go out to dinner.

The first file was filled with marketing strategy ideas from her new team. It was odd jumping into a group where all they did was think of ideas for a program she knew little about, and now she was to be their boss.

There were six employees on this team, and their ideas all sounded amazing. _Well when you don't know anything about the company any idea seems great, _Karla thought to herself.

A few ideas could be thrown out the window immediately. A revival of old legends vs new superstars?, Karla was pretty sure they'd done that before, plus she knew from doing a bit in Syracuse with Seniors Olympics, that insuring the elderly was a lot harder than what the ratings were worth. But there were some great romantic storylines going on, very days of our lives-esque.

She read through the proposals for a little while longer and then decided to watch some of the tapes Stephanie had left. That way she could maybe know which wrestlers were who without bumping into them in the hall and feeling embarrassed. She called Anthony on his cell to see if he wanted to meet for pizza at the room and watch the tapes.

"Yeah I'm just on my way back up to shower, you can order a pizza from the facility kitchen you know, they have a whole menu of stuff you can get." Ant explained.

"That's great, let's do that then, why don't you order it now, get whatever you want. I'm going to shower quickly and get ready to lounge around all night with my favorite little brother" Karla said laughing at the last part.

Stephen finished at the gym and took a long shower. The place had been empty today, with mostly everyone away with their families. He knew there were some new divas training, but he'd noticed they were out by the pool. Typical, he thought. At least he always was allowed to stay in the family side of the condos that the WWE owned and rented out to staff and talent that wanted or needed it. Mostly everyone stayed there temporarily while training and so the talent side was usually full with either trainees or staff that was young and wanted to get to know everyone. It was just too much of a dorm setting over there though, with everyone running to each other's rooms all night. Stephen preferred the quiet of the family side, what with only Joey as the occupant over there. He was one of the main lighting guys that stayed on the road with them, but when he had a break he came home so he could be with his daughter, that was a stipulation of her being able to visit him. But as for the rest of the staff and talent with children, they either had their own homes close by or chose to stay elsewhere; it wasn't common to see a family move in permanently to the family rooms. Usually that side ended up being a place for business partners to stay while in town for a meeting.


	2. Chapter 2

Knowing this it was a surprise when he reached the front desk to get his key.

"Oh hey Stevie, I was going to text you but I didn't have your cell, I've got you in room 207 this time. 203 and 205 have been rented out." Tammy, the front desk receptionist, and aspiring Diva announced. Aspiring, everyone was aspiring to be a Diva nowadays, and get close to a superstar, become a kept woman so to speak.

"Oh it has been? To who?" Stephen asked quizzically. He always stayed in 203, it was his room. He knew that space like the back of his hand. It made seem like he was home in a way, even though it was a glorified hotel room, it still felt like home.

"Some new girl, she seemed kind of bitter if you ask me. She's one of Vince's new hires. A media something or other, she's an office girl so hopefully we won't see much of her. She's staying with her brother though; maybe he's looking to break out in the biz." Tammy chirped on. It was Tammy's second nature to put down, A) Any other Diva's, and B) Any other female working for them. It was funny sometimes how blatantly obvious she could be in pointing out someone else's flaws so to raise her up more. But he knew that Tammy only would ever be the receptionist, and that she'd slept her way to even that position.

"Hello, Earth to tall Irish guy!" Tammy said, breaking Stephen's trance.

"Oh, yeah, no that's fine, I'm just used to the same room." He said, taking the key and turning to walk away, not listening to whatever nonsense Tammy was spewing out behind him.

He made his way to the staircase in the building, not even having to think about the steps he knew so well. He had a home in Florida, but that was basically for tax purposes and to have a concrete address. He barely stayed there, and it was by no means made up to look like a home. It was just a house that he owned and would maybe retire to if he didn't go back to Ireland.

Stephen made his way past his old room, he could hear the light buzz of a television and laughter. He wondered who was staying there. Tammy was probably telling the truth, some new business woman and her kid brother who wanted to try to get a taste of fame. They'd probably be gone as soon as she got her first paycheck, no one honestly stayed in the employee housing. You couldn't even have guests over easily, everyone had to be signed in and checked in. It would actually be a nuisance if you were just Joe Blow off the street. It was mostly a safety measure for the privacy of the superstars, who had a large and sometimes stalkerish fan base.

He rounded the corner and keyed into the room he'd been given. It was basically the same as all the others, but the set up was backward. The kitchen was on the other side of the room with the bedroom to the left. He put his things down and pulled out some bed clothes. Oh well he thought. It wasn't home but it would be quiet and in a weeks time he'd be back on the road where he felt most comfortable.

Karla awoke the next morning with a thumping in her head that she wasn't used to. It had been Anthony's idea to open up the few bottles of wine she had brought with her. The last bottle, she was pretty sure had just been a decoration in her old apartment and had to be several years old. She staggered into the bathroom and grabbed some Excedrin. Scrawled across the mirror in soap was a note, "_Gone to the gym. Be sure to drink plenty of water, and meet me down for a run?"_ Great Ant, way to leave a note she'd have to clean off. Although meeting for a run wouldn't be too bad, it would get her endorphins going and help out this raging hangover she was sure was on its way. Karla changed into her gyms clothes and grabbed her purse, skipping a little bit out the door.

Stephen woke up early that morning. He got up and got his gym stuff ready, it was almost just so routine he didn't notice himself doing it anymore. He grabbed water and a power bar and headed for the door. As he went to open it though he heard the door down the hall shut. He waited and watched through the peephole to see who it was but they had gone the other way. He waited to hear the sound of the elevator shut before leaving his room. Ha, he thought to himself. What is wrong with you? He left the room and headed toward the elevator to head down to the basement gym. He would usually work out in the gym over at the headquarters, and get in some ring time with whoever was over there. But he decided he would just get in a quick run then head over to the city to grab something's for the road and swing by the marketing offices there. He wanted to run over his story line with the writers. He seemed to be getting less play in the show now that Cena was back from being injured. He knew he'd have a way to go to build a fan base like John had, but he was sick of just being written in as the bully. Especially since so many fans only liked whoever had the strong story line at the moment and didn't actually pay attention to real talent. If the wwe actually held matches based on real talent and not just which story lines got the best ratings, there would be a whole different line up of superstars. But that wasn't what sold the tickets to the sold out shows across the world, and he knew that would never change. It wasn't really wrestling it was entertainment.

He rounded the corner to head into the gym when he saw her. She was slim, maybe 5 foot 4. She had mid length brown hair, but it had subtle gold tones in it. She was busy figuring out the treadmill while a young looking guy helped her. She must be a new diva in training, although she didn't seem to fit the mold of the usual girls that were hired. For one thing she was wearing normal workout clothes, as opposed to usual bra and panties set that the Divas wore. It wasn't that he didn't appreciate the girls wearing next to nothing, they were all attractive. But they were always trying. They always came in full makeup and sparkly outfits and were constantly flirting with anything with a pulse. That just wasn't his style of girl. He wanted to be able to look at someone at the worst and love them, not have to wait for a ten step production just to be able to work out.


	3. Chapter 3

"Why do they make this so hard to do? Just run." Karla said as she and Anthony tried to figure out the multitude of settings on the treadmill. There were a million buttons for every kind of run you wanted, uphill, downhill, cross country, sand, water. How could you even simulate running in sand or water? It was crazy.

"I don't know Kar, why don't you just lift weights with me like a real man huh?" Ant said laughing. He sauntered over to the free weights leaving her with the death machine they called a treadmill.

"Are you having trouble with that?" A voice suddenly chimed in. Karla turned and was suddenly face to face with a giant. Well not really a giant, but to her five feet he was. He must have been six foot something, and his shoulders were wider than she'd ever seen on a guy. But the most noticeable characteristic was his bright red hair. It was a gorgeous red that she would have died for if it came in a bottle, but she could tell that came naturally.

"Oh, yeah actually, I just want it to turn on, and run normally you know? I don't really need to run uphill through sand." She sputtered out, tripping over her words. What a preschooler you must sound like she thought to herself.

"Oh yeah? I actually enjoy the downhill water, then I don't even have to work out, I just slide" He replied. Karla just stared before his words processed.

"Oh, that was a joke? I'm sorry, I'm a little slow on the uptake." She said, feeling rather stupid. What was with this guy? She never usually got tongue tied stupid over anyone.

"Haha, yeah it was an attempt at a joke. Probably not the greatest, but that's not my forte. Listen if you need any more equipment help I'll be over there." He said and walked over to some sort of weights machine.

Karla hadn't started running two steps before Anthony ran over.

"OH MY GOD! Do you know who that was?" Anthony asked as quietly, but excitedly as he could. He looked like that twelve year old she remembered being surprised to see a new video game under the tree at Christmas.

"Yeah, some guy who knew how to work this machine, why?" Karla asked not really getting all the excitement.

"He's one of the wrestlers! He's on TV every week! I can't believe you don't know who he is!" Ant exclaimed, still just as excited as before.

"Well, I just don't get into that stuff anyway. He's just a person right? Like you and me, now shoo. I have pizza to burn off." Karla stated, putting her headphones back up and cranking some pop tunes.

Anthony sauntered back over to the free weights but kept glancing across the gym toward to guy with the fiery red hair. A couple more people came in and they seemed to know him and went over there to work out. Karla didn't see the big deal, she'd just think of them as her co-workers. The same with the anchors back in Syracuse. They just happened to be seen by more people. That's all it was, she didn't need to be star struck like her brother.

He could tell from the front of the room she couldn't figure it out, and that scrawny kid wasn't helping. The younger boy left her standing on the machine still staring at the buttons. He walked over to see if she needed any assistance.

"Are you having trouble with that?" He asked taking her in. She was really pretty, naturally so. She didn't seem to have any makeup on at all which he liked. Her eyes were a unique grey color.

"Oh, yeah actually, I just want it to turn on, and run normally you know? I don't really need to run uphill through sand." She stammered. He wondered if she was nervous. Maybe she knew who he was? That had ruined a lot of first meetings for Stephen over the years. Everyone got tongue tied because he was on TV. It made things difficult.

"Oh yeah? I actually enjoy the downhill water, then I don't even have to work out, I just slide." He said attempting to make a joke to lighten the mood and make her feel more comfortable. But it actually backfired because she just stared back with those deep grey eyes.

"Oh, that was a joke? I'm sorry, I'm a little slow on the uptake." She said. He laughed to himself, okay, that was a bad joke.

"Haha, yeah it was an attempt at a joke. Probably not the greatest, but that's not my forte. Listen if you need any more equipment help I'll be over there." He said and quickly turned. Wow, he thought as he made his way over to the weights. Maybe she's a new Diva and she'll be on the road with us. He thought hopefully. She really had the most unique colored eyes. He'd never really seen anyone with grey eyes like that. So deep and inquisitive looking, like she wanted to tell you everything but couldn't. Like her eyes were trying to speak for her. He couldn't quite place it. _I will find out everything about her. _He thought to himself. This would make things interesting; maybe this was just the change he needed.

Karla turned off the machine and wiped some sweat from her face. It felt good to run a couple miles, maybe not when you start out, but right after. She went back to her room to shower, leaving Anthony downstairs to finish his workout. Ever since he got his acceptance letter from BU he'd decided he wasn't going as a scrawny little nerd. So for the last five months she'd been dealing with him working out like crazy and drinking lots of protein. He had made a little progress but Karla didn't have the heart to tell him that they just had a small build and he'd never look like a body builder.

Turning on the faucet to the bath her mind went back to that enormous guy down in the gym. He was obviously a wrestler like Ant had said, but wow he had had an effect on her. She couldn't quite place it, but it was like he was someone she could trust if that made any sense. She never really opened up to anyone but she felt like she could with him, and that revelation scared her more than anything. _Business Karla, you're here for work. _She thought to herself, trying to train her brain to accept it. That just wasn't the life she was going to get. She couldn't chase off with boys and live on a whim. She still had to be responsible for Ant, even if he was all grown up.

Stephen watched her leave after her run, he had stayed on the other side of the gym doing repetitions that he didn't really need. He had actually just wanted to run as well but didn't want to go back over to the machines where she was. He didn't want to seem over friendly and scare her off. She was so pretty, he thought to himself. He hadn't had a girlfriend in so long, not since he made it with the WWE. He just didn't have the time was what he told everyone, and himself. Sure he'd had the occasional date, but most girls were only interested in his profession and his money and all that. It was hard to find someone who really wanted to know him. But when he had talked to that girl, she hadn't even seemed like she recognized him. It felt good to seem like just someone else other than a celebrity. He liked that feeling. He decided to go over to the kid that had been talking to her to see if he knew what her story was, they had looked like they knew each other. Hopefully he wasn't her boyfriend or something like that.

"Hey man how is it going" He said nonchalantly as he lifted one of the free weights.

"Oh, um great, Dude, I love you on Raw, I watch it all the time, I'm Anthony" The young kid sputtered out. Great, Stephen thought to himself, now I'm working out with a crazy fan. Not that he didn't love and appreciate his fans, he did. Just sometimes they could go over the line.

"Oh yeah thanks, hey who was that girl you were talking to? On the treadmill?" he asked, starting some bicep curls.

" Seriously? That's my sister. Karla, she just started working here. We moved in yesterday." Anthony replied looking dumbstruck.

" Oh really? Is she a new Diva or something?" Stephen questioned.

"Hahahaha, no way man. She's got a new job in marketing. She's actually heading to the New York Office today to set up her office and get some things started over there, she's working there half the week and then back here the rest of the time." The boy explained.

"Oh, and your doing what? Are you training here?" Stephen asked, wondering why a girl would bring her kid brother to her new job.

"Oh, um, well Karla's always taken care of me, so we just sold our apartment and moved here, I start at Boston University in August, Pre-Med. So I'll be gone except for breaks, and maybe even then depending on how internships go." He went on explaining his college plans, but Stephen wasn't really listening. He was too busy planning his afternoon which would definitely include a trip to NYC. He listened to Anthony talk about his college plans some more and then they talked about wrestling. It seemed that Anthony was a pretty big fan but he actually wasn't as crazed or annoying as most fans. He was genuinely interested in the athletics of it and what it took to build that muscle. He was a small kid but he would be able to build some strength if he worked hard at it. They lifted for a little bit longer, and then Anthony excused himself to go back up to his room. He did give Stephen his number though so they could do some ring work while he was in town which excited Anthony since he couldn't just go over to the practice ring; you had to be with someone training to get in over there. He liked Anthony, but he was glad he'd decided to call it quits, because Stephen had to get ready to head to the city, to try to see if he could introduce himself to the new marketing girl.

Karla was just finishing ironing her new turquoise Michael Kors blouse when Anthony barged in from his connecting room.

"Um hello? Getting dressed here." Karla said, pulling a towel around her bra.

"Oh please, like that covers anymore than your skimpy gold bikini does. Remember going to the Jersey Shore last summer? You had me so embarrassed. Anyway, your gonna be interested in what I have to say!" Anthony said giving Karla a look that she knew spelled trouble.

"Oh really? And that is…. What?" Karla said, going back to pressing the blouse.

"Stephen Farrelly, WWE champ, was asking about you. He seemed pretty interested too." Anthony said looking smug.

"Who is that? You didn't try to break into the headquarters did you? I would like to keep this job." Karla said not looking amused.

"No, the Irish guy from the gym, helped you with the treadmill?" Anthony replied.

"Oh, well that's strange. What was he saying?" She asked, a little more interested this time.

"Just seeing who you were, what you were about. He thought you were a diva."

"Oh well that's just silly, those Divas look so done up, like models. That's most certainly not me." Karla said putting on her blouse. She went over to her closet to find which heels would look best, maybe her high YSL's, or her Louboutins.

"I think he has a thing for you, and you look way better than those Divas." Anthony added, flipping on the TV.

"Oh you think so? Well thank you for that compliment, but as far as boys being interested in me, they better look the other way. I just signed all those papers on fraternizing with staff. I want to keep this job for a while. It's a big raise, it'll help me pay for your medical school. Plus I don't think I'll have time for boys." Karla added, heading into the bathroom to do her hair.

"You know Karla, someday you are going to regret only taking care of me. Do something for yourself. I'm eighteen now, I can handle it." Anthony added, not looking back from whatever sports game he'd put on.


	4. Chapter 4

Stephen got back to his room in a hurry to start getting ready. He did have to go to the city anyway, so he might as well stop by the offices right? He had just gotten out of the shower when his phone rang.

-Hello?

-Hey man, its Ted, what's going on?

-Oh hey, how's it feel being home?

-Great, you still should have come back with me, Kristen made a roast last night and Cody came over. He had some new game for the Wii that was really fun.

-Yeah, that sounds fun, but I've got a lot going on here now actually.

-What could you possibly have going on there?

-Well actually there's a new girl in marketing here. I thought I would get to know her a little bit.

-Really? Defrosting that icy heart you got?

-Real funny. Wait till I see you next, you won't be making jokes then.

-Well good luck with that, but be careful. Remember what happened with Randy and Sam?

-Yeah, don't worry. It'll be fine. Just a weekend fling probably. You know I don't have time for girls.

-I wish you would though; it's nice to have someone to come home to.

Stephen hung up the phone and went to get dressed. He recalled the whole Randy and Sam mess as he did. It was basically the same situation he was trying to pursue now, Sam had just been hired in the Ad Office and Randy had noticed her. He'd been warned not to get involved with the staff, it was one of the few rules that the bosses actually heavily enforced. They sold their shows on the storylines that were created and it was too hard to have them taking chances being seen with other people. Significant others weren't even really allowed at the shows even. But Randy hadn't cared and he'd gone after her anyway. Sam had been fired the second they found out. It was that big a deal to them that the wrestlers seem like they are all available. Even though Ted was so obviously married, and now Randy and Sam had a baby. In that instance it had turned out for the best. Randy had stayed with her and they started a family, got married. There had been plenty of IT girls, and a couple security guys that had just been flat out fired and nothing came of their tryst with a Diva or Superstar. But he wasn't going to do anything serious. Just get to know her for the week he was here and then he'd be gone again. He wasn't interested in anything long term and he didn't have the heart to make something that he'd have to leave constantly anyway.

He went into his room to get changed rummaging through his suitcase. He decided on dark wash jeans, with a blue button up and a black vest over it. He wore a hat just in case, so he could hide his bright red hair. His hair had always been red, but he dyed the top a little brighter for show. It was all part of the act. The hat was so he didn't get recognized too much in the city. He grabbed his wallet and keys and headed out the door. Maybe this weekend wouldn't be so bad after all.

Karla sat on the train into the city with her iPod playing a million butterflies in her stomach. It was about 9 am Saturday and the train was packed with families going into the city for the day. She wished she was just going in for leisure. She'd gotten her key from Mallory in the main building before she left. Mallory was nice; she'd given her the scoop on what the week would be like. The superstars were all away for a break but would be back Thursday for a meeting with Vince. She'd be introduced then, but Mallory said she was sure she wouldn't have to have any ideas or presentations ready by then. She'd explained where the New York office was and told her to ask for Tricia at the front desk. She'd help her get settled and find any of her other team members there. But Karla still felt a wave of nausea come over her every few minutes. She'd never been so nervous for a first day at work. She was so caught up in thinking about how things would end up that she almost missed her stop.

"Last Call for Grand Central Station, next stop Long Island Connection." The voice in the train boomed over the loudspeakers.

Oh Crap she thought as she quickly pushed through some kids playing cards to get out the door. Just made it she thought as the door quickly shut behind her. She now found herself in the middle of the train station wondering how anyone ever knew which way to go. She decided to just get up into the street and maybe that would make things easier. Ascending the stairs to the world above she was quickly taken back by the enormity of it all. She'd always been used to Syracuse. She'd passed through big cities but never actually stood in the middle of it all. It was enough to make anyone nervous, and this was exacerbated by the fact that she was on her way to meet a whole new team that she had to lead.

She made her way to the headquarters in the city, the building was huge. It was exciting to be working in such a huge place, which alone made the job feel worth it. She walked up to the huge marble desk to see if she could locate Tricia.

"Hi, I'm here to see Tricia with the WWE?" She politely asked the man at the front desk.

"Your name?" He replied.

"Karla Torricelli" Karla added.

The man took a phone and made a call to someone. She's here, he said to whomever answered. " Okay, go on up, 17th floor. You want room A4." He said and then went back to his coffee and paper.

Karla made her way to the elevators and stepped in. With a deep breath she pressed the button for the 17th floor. That ride seemed like the longest in the world. When she finally got to doorway to A4 she thought she'd die from nerves. Slowly she peeked around the corner of the doorway.

"Hello? Anybody here?" She called out nervously.

"Oh Hi! You must be Karla! I'm Tricia, but everyone just calls me Trish. How was the trip in for you?" A bubbly blond in a smart business suit asked.

"Oh it was fine, a little nerve wracking, but everything went smoothly." Karla replied taking in the space. It was very modern with a large table that could probably seat twenty people in the front. She could see that there were three offices going off three sides of the room. She wondered if this was where she would be. There was a table set out with kraft service, fruit and coffee and pastries.

"Well Let me know you to your office, its right here, mines across the way and Rob is at the back. He's our boss but he's rarely here. He works out of the training facility in Florida. We're getting ready for a staff meeting in about an hour so you'll be jumping right into it. Just a small one though, only a couple superstars will be here I think so It won't be anything big." Tricia added walking with Karla to her office.

The room was huge, it had a couch and chair by a coffee table to the one side, the other an enormous desk with an Apple computer and an iPad. The window looked out on the entire city, with the empire state building in view.

"This is amazing, I don't know what to say." Karla said taking in the view.

"Yeah, It's pretty nice up here, and quiet most of the time. We get a lot done here as opposed to the Connecticut office. There's always a superstar bothering you there. They constantly want us to give them their own storylines." Tricia said, coming to Karla's side.

"So what's your story anyway, do you have a boyfriend?" Tricia added.

"Oh no, I really didn't have time for that working at the news station. The hours were crazy ya know?" Karla lied, not wanting to get into her life story with Tricia just yet.

"Oh yeah I hear you there. Luckily I've got Kenny, he does sound for the shows so he's gone a lot but we make it work." She gushed, pulling out a photo.

Tricia and Karla talked some more about the rules and regulations of the office, lunch breaks and what not. Karla learned that it was pretty laid back here and as long as they punched out at least five new ideas and made planned presentations weekly they were basically free to do as they pleased. There were writers who planned out the story lines for the ideas that the girls and their teams came up with. For example they would plan a romance story and a jealousy twist with it leading to a title match with the girl also being the prize. Then they would work out which stars would go best with that particular story line and once they had that set the writers planned out the script starting points and how long the story could play out in perspective not only to the viewer's interest but also in leading it up to major shows. Karla learned that once an idea was set in motion, they would have to watch if the viewer's even responded. If they didn't, the story was squashed immediately. No time to waste on a storyline they weren't buying.


	5. Chapter 5

The meeting was about to begin and Karla was actually feeling pretty good. She'd lost most of the nerves since she had Tricia to lean to, and after she'd been introduced to some of the other writers and staff she felt pretty happy to be in such a comfortable family. Everyone was very welcoming and no one seemed to be scared of her in the boss sense. In fact no one even mentioned it, even though she knew she was head of marketing and media. She'd oversee what they planned from ploys on social networks to draw in viewers to giving the final say, along with Tricia and Rob, on the new storylines. It was actually a lot of responsibility, Tricia was well into her forties, and Rob was in his sixties at least. Actually most of the staff was older, the youngest one she'd met was Katie who made copies and put together packets for everyone, and she was twenty nine, still a year older that Karla.

Everyone sat down to begin the meeting, and as Karla was passing out the agendas a familiar face walked in the room.

"Oh Stephen, I'm so glad you're here, we thought there weren't going to be any reps for the talent today what with the break and all." Tricia said walking over to embrace the man. Karla recognized him as the guy from the gym. He was a lot different in street clothes, less intimidating perhaps. He took a seat at the end of the table, coincidentally right next to Karla's seat. She finished passing out the agendas and took her spot next to him. She felt a rush of heat pass through her body with him next to her. It was silly, childish really and she didn't know where these feelings came from. The meeting went pretty quickly, it was mostly an informational meeting addressing what they'd be working on the next week and to introduce Karla. As everyone went to disperse Karla headed back into her office to set up some files and organize for the week ahead. She jumped when someone knocked at her door.

"Hello again, Fancy meeting you here. I took you for a Diva back home." The giant man stated walking into her space.

"Oh Lord no, I could never. I'm not that athletic." Karla stammered out. She silently cursed herself again for sounding like such an idiot around this guy. What was it that made her so nervous?

"Yeah, I talked to your brother and he told me you were working, but he never said you were the boss. I do like a woman on top." He added.

Oh my god, Karla thought to herself. Suddenly her stammer and nervousness was gone. If there was one thing she hated it was sexual innuendos from a meat head like this.

"Excuse me? I think that's a little inappropriate to say, especially to the woman on top that's going to be approving upcoming storylines." Karla snapped back, proud at her natural wit that had given her kind of a bitchy reputation back in the 'Cuse.

"Touché, what storylines are you working on exactly?" Stephen asked.

"Nothing that I would need your input on, it may only be my first day on the job, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't take a rocket scientist to plan a silly little wrestling line." She said suddenly not wanting to get to know this particular superstar at all.

"Well I'll be down in the writers lounge talking with them, let me know when you need help thinking up something brilliant." The Irishman added walking out of the office with a wink.

The nerve, Karla thought. If there was one thing she hated it was self-centered meat head guys. There were so many of them back in Syracuse and she'd had to work her way up the ladder at the news station despite her education and even then she'd been less that some of the guys that just stood around like idiots all day. Maybe that was just the motivation she needed to succeed in this new position. Knowing she'd be able to twist the story of these guys that so depended on it for their careers; she'd have them all eating out of the palm of her hand.

Tricia came in shortly after Stephen had left. "What was he doing in here? If he was trying to get you to give him a good guy story line make sure you tell him no, firmly. He's our resident bully in all the stories and that's how we're keeping it for a while." Tricia added.

"No, he was just making some stupid sexist comment about me being a woman on top, or in charge so to speak. Typical guy." Karla said laughing.

"Oh really? That's not like Stephen, he's usually a perfect gentleman. He's always here working on new story lines for himself, but I don't want to change his image just yet." Tricia replied.

"And what image might that be? I want to try to learn as much as I can before we really get into it on Monday. I'm going to be in Connecticut then I think so I want to be prepared." Karla said.

"Oh you certainly do. Well Stephen's got the bad boy story line going, he basically comes out to rough people up and only works for himself. He breaks up the alliances because he doesn't care about anyone else." Tricia explained.

"Yeah, that sounds right from first impressions." Karla added laughing.

"Oh give him a chance, he's a real sweetheart around here. He actually really is involved, more so than most of the other guys. I think it's because he works so hard and doesn't get caught up in anything else. He's very focused. Not to mention cute, I've been trying to hook him up with one of the divas for so long to make a story there but he refuses, he doesn't want to get in that aspect of the wrestling, he just wants good fights written in." Tricia added.

"They have romantic stories? Wow, I have a lot to learn." Karla added. She and Tricia went over the main stories that were going on and Karla took so many notes she felt like she was back in College. Tricia left to go grab some lunch but Karla chose to stay behind to work on some storyline ideas. She wanted to come up with something great to prove she was going to be a good addition to the team. She was surprised when there was a knock at her door. Had Tricia been gone that long?


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I know a lot of stories include character's accents, but I really don't want to butcher an accent since I think they really are gorgeous no matter where they are from. So use your imagination!

Karla got up to answer the knock her door wondering who could be coming to see her next. She had never really been good at first impressions so she'd silently hoped it was just Tricia coming back to let her know something or other. Instead she was surprised to see Stephen back in her office.

"Oh hey, did you forget any lame pickup lines in here?" She said mockingly.

"Very funny, but no, I just wanted to see how you were getting along with your great storyline ideas." He stated in a thick Irish accent.

"Oh, we'll I've got some ideas started, I guess it wouldn't hurt to have some input from someone who's been in this industry a little bit longer than I have." Karla added. She hated to have to lean on someone who had made it clear their personality. And she really hated to have to be working with someone with such a bias. Obviously Stephen would want the best story lines for himself, so taking his advice might not be the best route to go, but she really had no choice. She was stuck on her lame idea of starting a rivalry between the current tag team champions Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov.

"Well let's have a look at what you've got." He said, taking the papers she'd scribbled all over and taking a seat in front of her desk. A wave of that same heat from before passed through her entire core as he sat intently reading her proposed story. She suddenly felt very self-conscious having him read her idea, the whole naked in front of your class thing came to mind. After about five more minutes of excruciating silence, the Irishman finally spoke.

"Alright, well it's not that bad. But you have to think about where you are going to go once this story has had its run. Where will that leave them?" he added, giving her actual advice. Something she was pleasantly surprised to receive.

"Oh, yeah I hadn't really thought about that aspect of it. But that's a good point." Karla added frowning down at her work. She really hadn't thought about that. She'd planned this big blow up and feud leading to a match that would decide the true winner, but she hadn't given much consideration to how it would end up. These two had always worked together as a tag team, but could they handle themselves one their own? Santino maybe could, but Vladimir didn't seem to have that large of a following yet, his career might come to a standstill unless he did something bigger, but that wasn't really believable for him yet.

"You know instead you should focus on a story that you know you can build and play off of, it doesn't have to be huge to begin with. A lot of the big fights have started with only a small cheap shot being written into a basic match. That sets the stage for the animosity, and you can take it from there." He added, sounding a lot more intelligent than she was. That was one thing Karla hating, being the less informed in her job. She strove to come to the table prepared and ready, she hated to have to go back to square one.

"Yeah, I suppose your right, well I guess I'll have to get back at it then." She added meekly, getting up to grab some water from her mini fridge at the end of her office.

"You know what really helps when you are stuck on something? Getting something to eat and relaxing. Come to lunch with me, I was just about to head out and could use some company." He asked, actually looking sincere.

"Oh I don't know. I think that would fall into the company policy of fraternizing with the talent? A big no-no I hear." Karla stated dryly, not wanting him to hear in her voice how much she actually would like to go.

"Oh stop, grabbing lunch? I doubt they would say anything about that. If you feel that nervous I can tell you where I'm going and then you can come ten minutes later and say we just ran into each other." He said chuckling.

"Oh that sounds better you think? To act sketchy right off the bat?" She added sneaking a smile at the muscular man in front of her.

"Ha, well when you put it that way I guess you're right. Listen, just come with me, we can go over ideas, It's totally professional." He said, moving too close for Karla's comfort.

"Alright." She said, taking the opportunity to walk across the room to grab her bag. "But it's professional, I want to get some work done."

They walked downstairs together in silence. Karla was too nervous to say anything although she still didn't know why. Was she star struck? She'd have to get over that quick in this industry. They set out on the pavement and Karla decided to break the ice.

"So we're exactly are you taking me? It better not be a hot dog stand. That's where my brother told me to go on my first day in the city, but I think that's a little touristy ya know?" She said pretending to check her cell.

"Oh don't worry, it's much better than a hot dog stand." He said, hailing a cab at the corner of the street. His hand caressed the small of her back coaxing her into the cab. Shivers ran up her spine at his touch and Karla hopped into the car quickly so as to break the connection. You can't feel this way about a co-worker she reminded herself.

Stephen told the cabbie an address and Karla tried her best to imagine where they were going. She was not surprised when they pulled up in front of Molly's, an authentic Irish pub.

"An Irish pub? Cocky aren't we?" Karla said with a smirk.

"Not cocky, just proud. I think you'll like it, have you ever been to a real Irish pub before?" He asked.

"Only the best, Coleman's in Syracuse, right in Tipperary Hill, where the traffic signal features green at the top and red on the bottom. We had our own Irish pride back there." Karla beamed remember the landmark from her childhood. The reason for the traffic light switch was when the Irish immigrated there and the traffic light was put it, it was seen as a travesty to have the British Red be above the Irish Green so they would break the light. The city would fix it and it would break again, so now as an ode to that the Green is at the top while the Red is at the bottom.

"Really, well we'll have to put that to the test here." He said as they got out of the cab. Stephen reached for her hand to help her out and this time he felt shivers too. This girl made him feel like he hadn't felt in a long time. He wasn't sure how to put it, but there was just something about her.

They grabbed two seats by the bar, Karla had chosen them that way they'd have to sit facing each other and not next to each other. Karla decided to stick to a grilled chicken salad to be safe, but ordered a Guinness so as to have something Irish.

"So tell me about yourself, what made you come to work for the WWE?" Stephen asked as they waited for their lunch.

"Wow, well aside from you sounding like a TV talk show host, that's a question I've asked myself about a million times and still don't know the answer." Karla added grinning. "I guess it was my brother's fault, he's the one that sent my resume out to Vince, but I accepted the position so I could move up. I was kind of hitting a wall at my old job. Plus the chance to work in NYC was amazing." She gushed, not realizing just how excited she actually was about this new life she was building. It was finally starting to hit her that so much would never be the same.

"You seem really close to your brother, he's living at the apartments too right?" Stephen asked, seeming genuinely interested.

"Yeah, well he didn't want to really stay back in Syracuse." Karla added, feeling a stab of nervousness in the pit of her stomach. This was starting to lean toward a subject that she was not comfortable with.

"Won't he miss your parents? I know when I relocated from Ireland I was homesick for the longest time." He added. There it was. The one subject she'd spent so much of her life trying to block out.

"Well it's a long story about that actually, I'm sure you wouldn't be interested." Karla stammered out. Suddenly the waitress showed up with their lunches and she was relieved to be able to change the subject. They talked about his start in wrestling and it was warming to see just how passionate he was about the sport. He told her how a lot of these guys had been passionate once but now where kind of wrapped up in the spotlight, but he always did it for the sport and the fans. They talked a little bit about the storylines, he told her she should focus more on what the team brought her on Monday, and build ideas from there instead of trying to come up with one on her own right away. After all it was the writers that got paid to come up with ideas, she was there to approve and decide ways to promo the ideas. It made her feel better since she didn't really know where she was going to come up with a creative new idea. Marketing an idea however, was her forte. They decided to walk back to the offices since it was only a couple of blocks and Stephen wanted to point out some spots to her on the way. It had been Karla's idea to cut through central park.

"So why don't you tell me that story about your parents? You never did get to elaborate on it at the restaurant." Karla's heart sank into her stomach. She had felt so happy and comfortable talking to Stephen during lunch and on the walk back, now she felt twisted again. It was strange though, she felt almost like she wanted to tell him everything. To let this man deep inside where she'd blocked everyone out thus far. She'd always just simply left it at she didn't know her parents anymore and they were not part of her life. Most new people she'd met left it at that, assuming it was a painful background and didn't press further. Only her friends from back home knew the story, and even fewer knew the pain she'd felt and really never dealt with.

"It's really a long story, it's boring mostly. They just aren't around anymore. I've taken care of Anthony his entire life. That's really it. Nothing special, ya know?" she said, pulling on the strap of her purse.

"Okay then Miss Karla, I'll give you a free pass today, but I get the feeling that's not all there is." He said, as they rounded the side of Central Park West to make their exit to the street. The walk back to headquarters was silent mostly, the elevator ride even worse. Karla was in a daze thinking about her parents. Anytime she thought about them she felt like she was Eighteen again. Coming home to see police at her door, giving her the news that would change her life forever. It had been raining that night and every time she thought about her parents she felt like she was back there, standing on the porch, the rain beating on her face and neck. She had wanted to cry, wanted to scream, wanted to run far away and never look back. But every time she thought back to that day she saw something else. She saw her eight year old brother, staring out the front door at her, sobbing. That was the picture she'd kept in her mind for the past ten years. That little boy with that horrible look in his eyes, that's what had made it possible for her to shut out her own emotions and feelings and move on. But looking at Stephen she felt so different, the way he looked at her made her forget the rain, forget the shock, and forget that little boy. Instead she was the one with the terrified look, and she was the one who was reaching out for someone to help her.


	7. Chapter 7

Karla left Stephen at the fourth floor to head up to her office. She'd made an excuse that she really needed to concentrate on some work for Monday because she was going out exploring with Anthony all day Sunday. He had made an attempt to see if he could join them since he'd be in Connecticut all week and didn't really have anything planned but she just said it was a family day and she'd maybe see him Monday. The truth was though; she didn't have anything planned for Sunday. She hadn't even talked to Ant all day and it was nearly four pm now. She'd have to call him to let him know to pick her up at the train station at seven, and then she'd make plans with him. Hopefully he still wanted to hang out with his big sister. She could tempt him by offering to buy some more dorm room stuff for when he went away in two months.

Turning the corner Karla entered her office to find Tricia sticking promo ideas to a poster board and writing comments about each on sticky notes.

"Oh hey Karla, I was wondering where you'd gotten off to. I was just fixing up this story board, it's the new promo ideas for the Undertakers return, we're trying to get this one just right because I think he'll be retiring after this last return." Tricia stated, looking back at the board.

Karla stepped over and looked at the board filled with ideas. This was the one thing she knew she was great at, her education had specialized her in reading an audience and finding what they would want to see. She looked over the ideas already in place. They had laid out having him make an appearance at this year's Royal Rumble match, where he would be the elusive 40th contestant and go on to win, thus earning a spot at WrestleMania.

"You know Trish, I really like this idea but I don't know if bringing him to center stage at WrestleMania is the best way to go, he's older and the insurance will be higher. Plus is it really his time again? I think it be better if we just made a comeback and gave him a few starring shows and then made it a big retirement special, that way there is a draw to more of the weekly shows. You don't need to draw into the big events; you'll have that no matter what." Karla added.

"That is a really great idea actually, that way we can improve regular viewing, maybe get a twitter thing involved with it too, our twitter pages are little slow to take off." The older woman added, jotting some notes into her legal pad.

"So where were you anyway, did you grab lunch?" she asked.

"Yeah, I did actually, sorry I didn't say anything." Karla added wondering to herself if she should have let someone know she was leaving.

"Oh no that's not what an issue, I just could have helped you find something nice, I know it's your first day here." Tricia explained.

"Yeah, that's fine, I went with Stephen anyway, he knew a nice place to go" Karla said, regretting it the second the words left her lips. She was never one to remember to keep a secret.

"You went with Stephen? I thought you didn't really get off on the right foot with him." Tricia said grinning, remembering their earlier conversation.

"Yeah, well he wasn't so bad after all, it was a nice lunch. And then we walked back through central park, I've always wanted to do that." Karla said feeling her face get red.

"Huh, if I didn't know any better I'd think you'd already developed a little crush. Just make sure you watch it girl. We don't need another employee fired. I had to scare the bejeezus last week outta Arianna, our receptionist during the week. She went out for drinks with Cody Runnels and well lets just say they got a little too comfortable. So just watch yourself okay?" Tricia said walking back into her own office.

Karla took a seat at her desk and booted up her computer. She didn't want to get in trouble and she certainly wasn't about to put her job on the line for some guy. She didn't even like him that way, he was just a nice guy she worked with and they had had a professional lunch. You had to have a deal to make it big.

******************************************************************************************!

Stephen walked back into the writers office and flopped down on the couch in the main discussion area. Sandy, one of the lead writers, was busy sorting through papers on the massive writing desk.

"Hey how was lunch?" She asked looking up.

"Better than it should have been, we went down to Molly's and then walked back through the park." Stephen added picking up a stress ball on the table beside him and tossing it around.

"Hmm, that sounds more like a date than lunch. Have you finally found someone worth your time? Who was the last girl you were with, I think that Amy girl about four years ago? I think it's time Stevie you aren't getting any younger." Sandy said smiling over at her friend.

Sandy and Stephen had practically grown up together in this industry. She'd come to the WWE straight out of college at Florida State. She'd met him while he was beginning training and they'd been close ever since. Now Sandy was a lead writer and Stephen was a superstar, they'd both reached their dreams. But while Sandy had also met her husband Mike, who worked with the finance team, and had a young girl at home and a son on the way, Stephen had never settled down. True that he was on the road a lot more but it hurt Sandy when he came over to visit her daughter and have some dinner. She knew this was the life he wanted, and he just needed to find that right girl.

"Yeah, It wouldn't work out though, she's an employee, you know the rules. Besides I only just met her, maybe she's as crazy as the last gal I went out with." Stephen added remember when Sandy set him up with her friend from high school Anna. She'd only talked about how awesome it was that he was famous and how she knew she would be famous too and how awesome it would be if they were both famous together. She'd been so preoccupied with that she couldn't catch on that he'd rather not be famous thank you, that he enjoyed his fans and his work but he'd rather not have to pick and choose things in his life based on whether he'd be recognized or not.

"Well I just want to see you happy, besides I think they're going to change that rule. Stephanie mentioned it at the last board meeting. Speaking of meetings, what do you think of this outline?" Sandy asked handing him a board with the plan for the new Diva's feud outlined on it.

He took the board and slowly looked over it reading all the notes and wondering how this would fit together on the show, suddenly a familiar scent washed over him.

"Good Afternoon, I'm Karla, I thought I'd introduce myself, I have Tricia's remarks on these summaries for you to go over." Karla said floating into the room in her six inch heels. Her scent was still wrapped around him, like cherry and oranges, refreshing. He noticed now how her hair bounced on her shoulders and the sway of her hips in that tight black skirt drove him insane. What are you doing, he thought to himself.

"Oh It's nice to meet you, I'm sorry I wasn't at the meeting this morning, I knew you were coming but I had a dr's appointment." The other woman stated. Karla had just noticed Stephen was sitting on the couch to her right. The woman introduced herself as Sandra Thomas, Sandy for short. She was about seventh months pregnant and huge. She said it was a boy and she hoped it was only one although some days she wasn't sure.

"It's great to meet you, have you met Stephen yet?" Sandy asked, not putting two and two together yet.

"Oh yes, we've been acquainted already. Hello again" Karla replied smirking at Stephen.

"Hey, long time no see." He said standing up quickly to take her hand. He gently led her hand to his mouth placing a delicate kiss on the tops of her knuckles. He wasn't sure, but he could feel her shiver at the touch, but maybe it had been his imagination.

"Okay, well I should really get going; it was great meeting you and seeing you again." Karla turned quickly and strode back upstairs to her office.

Sandy stared at her best friend. He was still looking out the door to where the woman had disappeared to, but Sandy could tell from the look on his face that this would be one storyline she didn't need to write for him. His eyes were a little glazed over and his lips were parted slightly. He was totally enamored with her, from her just walking into the room. Sandy's heart flittered with delight as she went back to her storyboards, leaving him in that moment. There was nothing she wanted more than for him to be happy, and it had been so long since he had.

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Karla nearly ran to the stairwell and did the steps two at a time. She nearly severed the heel of her sky high YSL pumps. Her hand burned slightly from where he'd kissed her and she felt stupid and silly. She knew she felt the small bud of feelings starting to grow but she knew she'd have to squash that immediately. They could not be together it just wouldn't work. She'd potentially lose her job and then where would she be? What if she did get fired and then it didn't work out. She'd have to go back to Syracuse with her tail between her legs and she wouldn't have anything to show for it.

She darted back into her office and sat at her desk. It was nearly four now and she figured that was a good time to head back to Stamford. She could sort herself out and focus on Sunday and be fresh from Monday's meeting at headquarters.

She was glad the train ride back wasn't as long as the first. She had managed to figure out the express trains and she hoped she'd soon enough be coming into the city like a pro. She felt a sigh of relief as she saw Ant already waiting for her.

"Hey sis, how as the big city? Did you meet any cute guys?" Ant asked looking really suspicious.

Heat passed over her body. "What are you talking about?" She asked, nervously.

"Oh you just wait. You'll see." Anthony said shutting her door for her.


	8. Chapter 8

Karla saw just what Anthony had been talking about when she got to their apartment. When she walked in the door she was taken aback by the ten or so dozen roses in every color on every spare countertop in their little kitchen/ dining area.

Oh my god. She thought walked in and taking a deep breath from the yellow roses on the kitchen table.

"So, who did you say you met?" Anthony asked taking a seat in the recliner.

She thought about it for a minute. These couldn't all be from Stephen, they'd only just met. Sure there had been sparks but they hadn't even exchanged numbers, just gone to lunch. She made her way to the red ones, which were in the largest vase and which held the card. She slowly opened the tiny envelope.

_I had an amazing time today. Please meet me tomorrow, I have something planned. _

_747-555-56587_

Her heart sank. Really? This was a little bit much. She stared down at the tiny lettering and wondered what exactly he had planned.

"So Sis, who's it from? I think I should know since I'm the man of the house." Anthony asked, getting up and making his way toward his sister. She had some dumb look on her face that he hadn't seen before. He was young but he wasn't stupid. He was pretty sure it was the look of someone falling in love.

"I guess it's from Stephen, we went to lunch today, but this is too much. I have to call him and let him know this is just too much." She said feeling herself tremble a little. She couldn't explain the rush that swept over her. It was so good to feel this special to someone and it was made worse knowing this was someone she could not be with.

"Wow really? You know you're a smart girl Karlie, you don't have to sleep your way to the top." Anthony snickered using his pet name for his big sis.

"Whatever Ant, you really are dumb you know? I really don't know why he sent all these, or when he had the time, he was at the office the whole day. We just had lunch at noon, I don't know when he did this, or why really." Karla stammered, defending herself a little more than she needed to.

"Well some delivery guy came and brought all of them around three as I was heading out to the train station, so he must have done it when you got back from lunch. It's a little bit much just for lunch. The guy either really likes you or hasn't been laid in months." Anthony explained in true guy logic, which was never good advice usually.

Karla walked over to the desk in her bedroom to log into her computer. She'd have to send him an email. A polite thank you but no thank you would do. However, once she sat down she thought how impersonal an email would be so she decided to just call. She silently hoped to get a voicemail as she listened to the rings.

"Hello?"

"Um, hi, Stephen?"

"I see you couldn't get enough of me today then? Had to call back for more?"

"Oh I wouldn't say that, it's just all these flowers suddenly appeared in my apartment."

"Oh did they?"

"Yeah, it's the weirdest thing."

"That is really bizarre"

"Well, thanks but you can't do that. This is a professional relationship and I want to keep it that way. I'm being serious, this can't happen. You barely know me anyway."

"I know that but I'd like to get to know you"

"Well you can on a professional level and this crosses the line. I'm going to go now, I'll see you at work if we cross paths there."

With that Karla hung up her phone and stared at Anthony who had a big grin on his face.

"Okay?" He asked laughing a little bit.

"It's just strange, and a little creepy. He doesn't know me. We went to lunch one time, as colleagues. Don't you think that's weird?" Karla asked, not sure if she was so much asking Ant as asking herself.

She went into her room to change out of her work clothes and into some workout gear. She had planned on going out with Ant but she needed to work off some stress first. Why was this man sending her an obscene amount of flowers, roses at that. They had spent one afternoon together. It was hardly cause for such a display.

Karla entered the gym to find Tammy running on one of the treadmills. She decided to go run next to her, she seemed nice enough. That way she'd have someone to talk to so her mind wouldn't travel back to what had happened.

"Hey Tammy, how are you?" Karla asked stepping onto one of the machines.

"I'm good, has your room worked out for you?" Tammy asked, changing her setting to a quick speedwalk.

"Oh it's great thanks, everything has been amazing. The offices in the city were great. I can't wait to get into the office here though, see what that's like." Karla added matching Tammy's speed.

"The offices here are pretty nice, but you can get lost sometimes, make sure you leave some bread crumbs. Hey did you get your flowers? That poor guy made like six trips. Who were all those from?" Tammy asked, giving Karla a stare.

"Oh gosh, it's a long story. They're from Stephen Farrelly, one of the wrestlers? We went to lunch today and he got a little crazy. I set him straight though." Karla added laughing.

"Wow, that's funny. Huh, maybe he likes you?" Tammy asked, slowing her pace a little bit.

"I can't see how, we only just met. But you must know the rules around here, I'm not going to fuck this job up for some stupid guy." Karla said. Not really sure if she was telling Tammy or herself.

"Yeah that's true. Hey how about a little retail therapy tomorrow? I can show you some great spots!" Tammy exclaimed bringing her treadmill to a stop and patting her brow with a towel.

"You know what Tammy, that would be great. I need to get some new outfits for work, and some girltime would be amazing." Karla added.

"Well it's set then, let me give you my number and you can just text me when your off work, I can leave the desk pretty much anytime, no one's checking in until next weekend anyway." Tammy said punching her digits into Karla's iPhone and turning to walk away with a wave.

Karla finished her workout and headed back to the room to shower. She was glad she'd befriended Tammy. She would need someone to talk to when Anthony left for school in a few months. That was going to be hard to handle for her, she'd basically raised him and he was everything to her. She knew she'd spent more of her life on him that he needed, but she'd been happy to do it. It was what her mother and father would have wanted, and she was very proud of the man he'd become. But Karla couldn't help but realize that there was a hard rock in her throat every time she thought of the day in the fall when she'd be driving him to Boston and returning alone.

Karla returned to the room to find Ant fast asleep in front of the TV. She decided not to wake him and instead covered him up and called it a night. It was only quarter to eight but they'd had a long weekend with moving and tomorrow was proving to be even busier for her.

******************************************************************************************************!

Karla awoke at six fifteen am, not surprised since she'd gone to sleep so early. Perfect time to head down and workout, then she could take her time setting up her office for Monday and then have the afternoon to gab with Tammy while they shopped. She wandered out to the living room to find Ant still snoring away. She quickly scribbled a note that she'd be in the gym, and crept out without a peep.

Making her way downstairs to the fitness room she thought back to what she would do with her office space today. This would be her main office so she wanted to make sure it had all the hard copies of her work. She'd have to see if she could also have everything copied to her mac and if that could live stream to the New York office so she didn't have to cart paperwork back and forth constantly. As she walked into the fitness room her train of thought was suddenly interrupted at the sight of a familiar face lifting weights.

Great she thought. My stalker has returned. She walked over to the treadmills and tried her best to simple give a small smile and then turn around, however to her dismay he immediately put down the weights and headed over.

********************************************************************************************************!

Stephen noticed her in an instant. He had come to the gym around five am and was just hoping she'd show up. He had been done with his normal routine for about half an hour and chose to try to waste time in hopes of seeing Karla again. He had kind of felt bad for sending her flowers, but he wanted to make an impression. He had been out of dating game for so long, he didn't really know how to impress anymore. Sure he'd had plenty of one nighter's in practically every city they stopped at, and it wasn't hard finding some desperate fan for a night. But he wasn't getting any younger, and wanted to try to find something more serious. She gave him a glance and a smile and proceeded to head over to the treadmills. Should I go over, he thought to himself. His brain told him one thing, that she wasn't interested and to leave the poor girl alone. But like all men, his libido forced him to do another.


	9. Chapter 9

"Good Morning Miss. Do you need any help with the machines today?" Stephen asked with a smirk as he came to stand next to Karla's machine.

"No Stephen I do not, is there a reason that your over here?" Karla said a little bit more snippy than she had intended.

"Woah, I'm just trying to be friendly. You said yourself we should have a professional relationship. I'm saying hi to a colleague at the gym. That's all." He said actually looking a little bit hurt.

"I'm sorry. Listen, I want to start fresh with you. But I do want to make it clear that I just want to make friends here and that's all. I'm here for my career, as are you and that's how it has to be, okay? Friends?" Karla said feeling butterflies in her stomach. Where did all those butterflies come from anyway?

"Alright, but I don't think you'll be able to resist my Irish charm." Stephen said with a wink as he walked back over to the weights. He didn't quite know what to make of this girl, most times they melted like butter and it was easy pickings. But for some reason this chick wasn't having it, and that made the chase all that much sweeter.

Karla increased the incline on her treadmill and pulled on her earphones trying to forget the last statement her co-worker had made. Who exactly does he think he is, trying to assume she'd just fall at his feet? She didn't get star struck and she certainly did not fall for meat head guys like that.

An hour later Karla had finished her workout and was feeling pretty good. She headed back to her room to shower and get ready for the day. She sent Tammy a quick text to let her know to meet her downstairs in an hour to head out to the city to shop. She'd decided to forgo on setting up her office, she would just take her time with that Monday. Walking into her apartment she was surprised to find Ant's door still shut. It was almost eight now and he rarely slept in, she'd half expected to see him join her in the weight room that morning. _Strange_ she thought to herself, but brushed her wondering thoughts aside and went to her room to change.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.

Anthony wandered over to check out the pool in the apartment complex's more "interesting" side. He was pretty stoked to be living here and all his friends back home were jealous that he was basically living with WWE Divas, but he hadn't really seen any he recognized yet. Just the girls that always hung around the pool laughing and talking to each other. They were all really hot but he didn't seem to know any of their faces which meant they were probably either training or other guys girlfriends. Maybe his sister didn't want to get with anyone, but that wasn't stopping him. It'd be unreal to go to college with a diva for a girlfriend.

As he turned the corner to check out the pool he realized his plan maybe hadn't been as foolproof as he'd thought. There was one old man swimming laps by himself and Ant realized it was still only 8:30 am. These girls probably had nothing else to do and slept 'till noon every day. Damn he thought as he made his way back around the pool toward the entrance to the main building. He'd have to swing by later, but he didn't know what Karlie had planned. Even though she was just his sister, she'd raised him since their parents had been killed and he still feared her wrath like any kid fears their parents. He made his way back to his room and stuck his key in the door, almost simultaneously his sister's door burst open.

"Where have you been little brother?" Karlie asked quizzically with a toothbrush sticking out of her mouth, and a towel made into a turban on her head drying her hair.

"I went to check out the pool and see around the place, just check it out ya know?" Ant said starting to head into his room.

"Well hang on sec Anthony, I wanted to ask you, you know I'm going shopping and to lunch with Tammy from the front desk today, so did you want some cash? You could take the car and go get some stuff for college if you need any, or just to get some lunch?" Karla asked following him into his room. She was still only wearing baby pink boy shorts and her pink polka dot bra. Sometimes Ant felt like letting his sister know he was not a little boy anymore, she was his sister, and a pretty hot sister at that and he didn't need to see her prancing around wearing just her underwear.

"I'm sure I can survive one day by myself Karlie, and would you put on some clothes? If you weren't so hot it would be okay, but it's weird seeing you like from behind. I think it's a victoria secret model or something." Ant said laughing as he turned to head to his bedroom to change.

"Whatever Ant, I don't look like that, I wish." Karla said heading back to finish brushing her teeth. She finished getting ready and sent a quick message to Tammy that she would meet her at Starbucks downtown to head out for the day.


	10. Chapter 10

Karla's sandals clicked loudly on the pavement as she briskly walked over to the starbucks where she was meeting Tammy. She was excited about a girls day and to be honest it was the first girls day she had had in years. After her parents had passed away and she'd been left to raise her brother she'd pretty much lost contact with her high school friends. They'd understood obviously but over time they grew apart, friends would come back from college or studying abroad and want to go out and party and reconnect. Karla, however, had a nine year old at home so she couldn't just meet everyone out at the bar like she had wanted. She had had a full time job and responsibilities. She had tried to make friends with some of the commuters at Syracuse University but even they were without the baggage she had. The closest friend she had had was Audrey, a receptionist at the news station who had a daughter close to Anthony's age and was a single mom. She understood the stress that Karla was dealing with so they'd met for coffee many times. So today's shopping excursion with another girl was much needed, Karla didn't even really know what girls gossiped about nowadays.

"Hey lady! I'm so glad you made it." Tammy said as Karla entered the store and took a seat at the table Tammy was at.

"I wouldn't miss this for the world. I need a girls day." Karla said placing her cell on the table and purse on the floor beside her.

"Well I already ordered you a coffee, it's delicious, so I thought we'd just start off with Stamford Town Center? It's a really nice mall, then we could make our way back to headquarters and stop at the little boutiques along the way." Tammy said excitedly sipping her drink.

"Yeah, that sounds awesome!" Karla said containing her laughter at Tammy's last sentence. Head back to headquarters? What were they now, superheroes? It sounded so ridiculous.

Stamford Town Center did not disappoint as the average mall. It was flanked with the typical Bon Ton and Macy's, with the normal sort of stores you see inside. Tammy spent what Karla imagined to be thousands and wondered to herself where a receptionist got that kind of cash. As for herself, Karla had splurged on a new bra and panty set and some new urban decay makeup items. She put a nice three piece suit on reserve for Anthony to come back and try on, he'd need a good suit for college. They decided to stop for lunch at a sushi spot in the mall and gossip more about life with the WWE.

"Well, you've got to watch out for Vince. He doesn't actually come around much but when he does he like literally want's everyone to like fawn over him. Like I was really nervous the first time he came by and Sherry, my supervisor, was like you can't be shy, you have to just go out of your way for him or he will have you dropped." Tammy said in between bites of spicy tuna.

"Okay, I'll keep that in mind. I've met Stephanie but she was super nice." Karla said taking a sip of her miso soup.

"Oh yeah she's great. She basically runs development anyway with John and whoever else. But they like run things from their floor, the sixth floor. Then you have the real hub which is your department and then like the promotions department and PR and media. That's what really runs it, then everyone on the sixth floor just approves things and does the financial end. Your really lucky to be downstairs if you ask me, it's more laid back and you get to know the wrestlers too which helps to promote them." Tammy said. She was actually really full of information regarding the business, it was surprising since she was just the receptionist at the hotel.

"Wow, that's really helpful to know, you know Tammy with this kind of knowledge you should be working inside, why are you just out at the apartments?" Karla asked, biting a fried noodle.

"Well actually I was going to Sacred Heart University, it's not far from here. I was going for PR and Marketing and I had my internship with WWE, that's how I got involved, I actually thought wrestling was stupid beforehand, but once I was here, there are so many ways to market it, it was like I'd hit a jackpot." Tammy said, her face suddenly less Barbie-esque and more glowy and excited.

"So then what happened? Why did you move to being a receptionist?" Karla said, very interested now in peeling back the layers of this obviously complicated girl.

"Well, I was into my fourth year of school and I was engaged to this great guy and everything was going great and then out of the blue he just left me. I know it sounds stupid, but I'd let him take care of so much in our lives it was like suddenly I was without an apartment and without a car and without my financial rock, so I left school fall behind and I lost my scholarships and my internship and it was just really hard. It was harder to crawl back home with my tail between my legs though, my family is pretty tough when it comes to failure. But the friends I had made through my internship helped me out and got me the job with the housing here, and twice a week I help out with the PR team making copies and putting together the portfolios. This all happened in the last year though, I'm going to try to get back into school next fall." Tammy said, sighing.

"Well that's great, you should do it. But I have to ask if you had all that happen where do you get all the money for shopping? I mean, you look so put together all the time." Karla asked, regretting immediately her boldness.

"Well, my dad coaches at UCONN, and my mom's a really successful magazine editor down at Elle in the city, so I'm a little spoiled I guess you could say." Tammy said laughing. "I may have failed a little bit and hit some speed bumps, but I'm still the baby of the family and the only girl, so I've still got my black Amex on hand." Tammy added as the girls paid their check.

Once Karla got back to her room she was happy she'd gone out and made a friend in Tammy, she was realizing that the first impression she'd gotten, a blonde bimbo, was not accurate at all and it made her think, if she could make such a quick judgment about this girl, maybe she done the same with a certain someone else?

Anthony was snoring on the couch when Karla arrived and she starting making dinner trying not to wake him, but his nose was far too powerful.

"MMmmm, Karlie that smells great." Anthony said as he walked into the kitchen, sleepies still lining his eyes.

"Yeah, just some pasta with a carbonara sauce. Did you want any tomatoes in it? Or I can add some diced chicken too." Karla said, stirring her sauce.

"Yeah that sounds great, I'll make some bread for it." Ant added, heading to grab the ingredients to make some delicious cheesy garlic bread. If there was one thing the Torricelli's could do, it was make a mean Italian dinner.

"So how did it go with Tamara, did she ask about me?" Ant asked, giving Karla a look.

"Well she did ask how you were getting on before school, I found a suit for you to go down and try on so that's really the only thing that brought you up. She's like four years older than you anyway, so I wouldn't get your hopes up too much." Karla said, straining the fettuccine.

"A suit? Really? For what?" Ant asked moaning.

"Well you'll need something for college if you have any events where you need to wear a suit, and you can't really wear one of dad's old things you know." Karla said, a rock suddenly forming in her throat. She forgot for a second what that might mean to Anthony, he should be doing these sort of guy things with his father, not his sister.

"Oh Ant, I'm sorry, I didn't mean that, I just meant, you know you'll need at least one nice outfit to wear." Karla said looking back at her brother who was now no longer smiling.

"It's okay Karla, they were your parents too. I don't know why you walk on eggshells about them all the time. I feel like we never talk about them." Ant said, fixing a salad.

"It's just hard you know. I would rather just remember that time in my life as a wonderful time that came to an end like all things usually do, and that's it. They aren't coming back so why should I punish myself by thinking about them when that makes it so much harder? Anyway, let's eat, we've got this great dinner, plus I want to talk about what we need to do before you leave, it's coming up quick you know." Karla said, bringing the pasta to the table. They ate mostly in silent, Ant busy on his phone and Karla reading some reports from production on a new line of wrestling toys she would need to market. It was hard to talk about her parents with Anthony. She didn't ever know how to talk about them without upsetting him or stirring up emotions. It was better to just leave that chapter of the book closed.

Anthony excused himself to go to his apartment and shut the door connecting their too living rooms. He was obviously upset because he usually just left that door open so it felt like just a big house, but not tonight. Karla could hear the buzz of the tv and heard him talking to someone on his cell. It had to be hard being here, away from all his friends at home so close to when they'd all leave for college. He should have been going to barbeques and seeing his friends before they left, instead he was here in Connecticut stuck on what was basically a strip of businesses with no one to talk to but his sister. Hopefully he'd have a great time at school and make tons of friends there so he wasn't so lonely when he returned home.

Karla finished cleaning her kitchen and sat down with the latest issue of vogue. She thought of maybe trying to incorporate more fashion with the diva's outfits, maybe strike a deal for a photo shoot interview especially now that she knew Tammy had connections at Elle. Karla wondered to herself if maybe she'd ever used her connections.

The next day started off terrible. It was just one of those days where nothing seemed to be going right, from her hair to her outfit choice. To top it all off it was the day that Karla could be meeting Mr. McMahon who was in the Connecticut office today. From what Tammy had said Karla now didn't know what to think about her CEO. She was nervous that he might live up to all the horror stories that Tamara had gone on about.

Karla's brand new Louboutin heels clicked across the slate floor of the main building. Butterflies grew in her stomach as she made her way to the stairs to head to her office. This was the first official day in the Connecticut office where she was actually just another employee and not the new girl. She'd been pulled around to meet so many people and been introduced and given a run through one how things went that she hadn't actually accomplished much actual work. But now she'd pretty much met everyone and it was actually time to get to business. As Karla rounded the corner to head to her office she was suddenly face to face with a rock hard body. It was one of those moments that went in slow motion, she felt herself hit that rock wall and then suddenly she was falling back tripping over her five inch heels.

"Oh my god, are you alright?" A man with a thick southern drawl asked as he reached for her hand.

"Yeah, I think so. Sorry, I didn't see you." Karla said, flipping her hair back over her head.

"Oh, no please, I apologize, you definitely took the brunt of that collision." The man said now staring into her eyes. Karla now found herself face to face with what she was sure had to be a god. Had she actually died? Was this heaven? He had the most chiseled face with just a hint of five o'clock shadow, but in a sexy way, not grungy. His chocolate brown hair was mussed a little like he was in an Abercrombie ad or something and he was about six foot two, just right to her five foot seven. But it was his eyes that struck her most, they were the brightest electric blue that they should have been fake, but with the rest of his beauty she knew they were real. It was as if he'd stepped out of the cover of a cheesy romance novel.

"I'm Jonathon, Jonathon Banks. And you are?" He asked with confidence.

"Um, Karla, Toricelli. I'm one of the new PR and marketing directors." Karla spat out, trying to make herself sound professional.

"Well then, we'll be seeing a lot of each other. I work with Product Development, I was just on my way to the marketing offices actually, care to join me?" He asked as she smoothed out her skirt.

"Uhh, sure, I'd like that." Karla said following the equivalent to McDreamy all the way to the marketing department. I wonder if this falls into the fraternizing category she thought to herself. He's not talent right?


End file.
